www.cmid.org.in Sector Brief 01

Marine Fishing

Benoy Peter and Vishnu Narendran

Traditional fishers from five Indian states were found engaged in marine fishing from the coast during 2017. Fisher folk from Sundarbans region in West Bengal, Puri, Khorda, Cuttack and Baleswar districts on the Odisha coast, Srikakulam and Vizianagaram districts in coastal Andhra Pradesh, Udupi district in Karnataka, and , Cuddalore, Thoothukkudy and Ramanathapuram districts in Tamil Nadu work in that operate from the Kerala coast. Labour Migration to Kerala CMID/Savanan R.S. CMID/Savanan

Marine Fishing in Kerala in marine fishing from the Kerala coast during 2017. Fisher folk from Sundarbans region in West is the second largest fish producing country i Bengal, Puri, Khorda, Cuttack and Baleswar in the world. Marine fishing, inland fishing and districts on the Odisha coast, Srikakulam and aquaculture constitute the fishing sector. In Vizianagaram districts in coastal Andhra Pradesh, 2015, nearly 30 per cent of the total marine fish Udupi district in Karnataka, and Kanyakumari, landings in the country were from the southwest Cuddalore, Thoothukkudy and Ramanathapuram region of the west coast, comprising Kerala, districts in Tamil Nadu work in boats that operate Karnataka and Goa. With a coastline of 590 km from the Kerala coast. Besides the traditional dotted with 222 marine fishing villages, Kerala fishers, men from several districts in Assam and contributes almost half of the total landings from West Bengal, with no prior experience in fishing, the region.ii The number of fisher folk actively1 are also engaged in the fishing boats. Among engaged in fishing during 2015-16 in the state the major harbours visited as part of the study, was 233,126.iii Major fishing harbours in Kerala Vizhinjam was the only harbour where migrant include Vizhinjam in Thiruvananthapuram district, workers were not engaged in significant numbers. Neendakara and Azheekkal in district, Cochin and Munambam in Ernakulam, Labour Migration to the Sector in , Beypore and Puthiyappa in Fishers from Tamil Nadu, particularly from , and Azhikkal in district.2 Fishers Kanyakumari district, have been historically present in Kerala use crafts that vary from Catamarans across the harbours in the state. In the absence of that return on the same day to trawlers fitted with sufficient facilities such as harbours, auction halls modern navigation equipment that take more than and cold storages in their native district, a lot of the ten days on a single trip. Trawlers require at least 10 to 15 workers on board. Traditional Hindu Like several other sectors in the state, fishing too fishers from the faces acute labour crunch and many owners in Sundarbans region of Kerala find it difficult to get labourers. While there is an attrition from the labour force as the senior South 24 Parganas fishers retire, very few young men from the state district in West Bengal find fishing as an attractive means of livelihood. A operate from several combined outcome of this is a diminished native labour force. The shortage of labour is addressed Kerala harbours. by engaging workers from other states. Traditional fishers from five Indian states were found engaged

1. Engaged in fishing for livelihood and registered with the Kerala Fishermen’s Welfare Fund Board. 2. The study covered all the above major harbours and several of the minor harbours. Cover image: CMID/Savanan R.S. 2 CMID/Benoy Peter CMID/Benoy fishers from Kanyakumari operate their mechanised and if we are captured, levy is charged’ said one of boats from the Kerala coast. Known for their them. ‘The turtles get trapped in the net and die. exceptional fishing skills as well as their willingness The net also gets destroyed’, another added. to undertake deep sea fishing expeditions, fishers from Kanyakumari captain most of the trawlers that Work and Life operate from Kerala. Colachel in Kanyakumari and For those who have never worked in the sector, it Rameswaram in Ramanathapuram are two major takes several months to master the required skills. pockets in Tamil Nadu from where fishers come to They start off their work on board by learning how Kerala. Fisher folk from region operate to sort different kinds of fish. According to a boat from the harbours in the northern Kerala, such as owner from Munambam, a minimum of four to five Azhikkal in Kannur. Fishers from Andhra Pradesh migrant labourers are employed as deck hands were also found engaged in boats that operate in each trawler boat operating from Munambam. from Azhikkal. Vizianagaram and Srikakulam were In most boats, the system of payment for these the districts of origin as reported by these fishers. fishers is based on the share of the catch. Usually Migrant fishers from all states were men and most the captain gets a double share in addition to of them were hired through their social network. allowances and the rest of the crew get single shares. Since these boats go for multi-day fishing trips which last for 10 to 15 days, most migrant The nesting of Olive fishers live in the boats. Some live in rented rooms near the harbour, provided by the boat owner. Ridley Turtles along the Odisha coast and Fish Processing related conservation Fish processing in Kerala heavily depends on measures push fisher migrant labour although local workers are present. folk from Odisha to Aroor in Alappuzha district and Neendakara and Sakthikulangara in Kollam district are the major migrate to other states fish processing hubs. Both migrant men and including Kerala. women work in the fish processing units. Migrants are recruited through contractors and agents. There is a significant presence of single migrant women and girls in the fish processing industry. Most of the workers reported Assam, Karnataka, Odisha, Jharkhand and Nagaland as their native states. Workers live in the hostels/dormitories

CMID/Benoy Peter CMID/Benoy provided by the management inside the company campus. Migrants also work at fishing harbours as Migrants from eastern Indian states West Bengal, helpers loading and unloading fish. The ice plants Odisha and Assam were found working in the boats too engage them. Most of such workers were operating from various harbours in the state. While found to be from Assam, West Bengal, Odisha and there were traditional fishers from West Bengal Jharkhand. and Odisha among them, there were also migrants who started working in the sector only after they arrived in Kerala. Most fishers were engaged in the trawlers. But there were also those who worked in other types of boats. Traditional Hindu fishers from Kakdwip in the Sundarbans region of South 24 Parganas district in West Bengal operate from several Kerala harbours. Chances of earning a better income is what tempted most of these workers to travel thousands of kilometres to work in Kerala. They also mentioned about the exploitations of the boat owners in their native places as another reason for traversing to Kerala. Baleswar, Cuttack, Khorda and Puri were the districts of origin of fishers from the Odisha coast. Odiya fisher folk mentioned that due to the presence of the turtles (Olive Ridley Turtles) it is ‘risky’ to operate from the Odisha coast. ‘They (the patrol) shoot at the boats CMID/Savanan R.S. CMID/Savanan 3 CMID/Savanan R.S. CMID/Savanan

References i. Kerala State Planning Board (2017), Economic Review 2016, Kerala State Planning Board, Thiruvananthapuram: Available at: https:// kerala.gov.in/documents/10180/ad430667-ade5-4c62-8cb8-a89d27d396f1. ii. Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (2016), Annual Report 2015-16, CMFRI, Cochin: Available at http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/10897/1/ CMFRI%20ANNUAL%20REPORT%202015-16.pdf iii. Kerala State Planning Board (2017), Economic Review 2016, Kerala State Planning Board, Thiruvananthapuram: Available at: https:// kerala.gov.in/documents/10180/ad430667-ade5-4c62-8cb8-a89d27d396f1.

June 2017 Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development CMID is an independent non-profit think tank devoted to migration and inclusive development, advocating for and promoting the social inclusion of migrants. CMID provides evidence informed solutions for mainstreaming inter-state migrant workers in India. This sector brief was prepared based on a qualitative research undertaken by the authors across the 14 districts in Kerala during November 2016–May 2017. The study was funded by Thummarukudy Foundation. CMID also acknowledges the fellowship provided to the authors by Aajeevika Bureau during January to June 2017.

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